consumers' beliefs about the credibility of firms' CSR claims, which depend in turn on the (expected) fines for fraud. First, we … likelihood of certification. Second, fraud only arises when the fines for fraud are at intermediate levels and some CSR firms do … not certify their practices. Third, the presence of fraud comes at a cost for firms by inducing lower equilibrium prices …

We examine firm managers' incentives to commit fraud in a model where firms seek funding from investors and investors … can monitor firms at a cost in order to get more precise information about firm prospects. We show that fraud incentives … funded without committing fraud, whereas in bad times investors are more vigilant and it is harder to commit fraud …